Let them eat cake...

I found some pictures while cleaning out my inbox today. They are from the cheesecake place up the road that Courtney took Carla and I to for our respective birthdays sunday... She has hers on July 26, mine was July 24...

This is the banana's foster one....

And this is the fresh strawberry one... (my favorite!)

My Saturday

Whew. I've been productive today. I think I might even treat myself to a nap. My day started at about 2am this morning. I had a dream where I made a friend of mine cry. I don't remember much of it but I do remember his eyes welling up with tears. So I wake up upset cuz he's crying in my dream. Ugh. Stupid girl heart.

I toss and turn till about 7am, then realize I'm not going to get any sleep so might as well start my day. Went and ran a few errands. I needed some more peanut butter cookie mix... When I get home, my roomies are up and getting ready to start their day.

I start my cookies, they leave on some super secret spy mission. I finish baking my cookies, then its time to sandwich them together. Clean the kitchen. Then it was time to put up the christmas decorations we'd packed last night. Then I pulled out all the poison ivy out of our front bushes. Man I hope I didn't get any of that on me...

Meanwhile the girls are seeing "hairspray." Then they are going to go tan at the pool. Courts going to camp next week and is working on her sunkissed look. And for dinner, Carla's making hamburgers. Yum.

Its been a good day. I like being in my kitchen talking to Him while I bake. Or driving down highland in the cool morning air. Or even pulling poison ivy. I just like being with Him plain and simple...

More Party Pictures

Pictures with Santa

Christmas in July...

My roomies threw me a birthday party this year. One of them had been asking for months about a party, but I just really wasn't in the mood. I'm not the biggest fan of being the center of attention (and yet I write in this blog. hmm....), but saturday night they came up with this party idea and just started glowing about it. I didn't have the heart to say no.

It was a Christmas in July theme. I was Santa. My guests were the "kids". The kids brought Santa presents and wore pjs. We actually had a few little ones present who were absolute darlings in their little pjs... As for me, I wore a red dress, that along with a santa hat, made me look like a preggars Mrs. Clause....

The decorations were awesome. From snowmen in the front yard, to the christmas tree decked out in texas ornaments, to the fake fire, hanging stockings, and blue twinkle lights on the fireplace. Each place you looked there was something christmasy that made me smile.

A veggietales christmas was playing on the tv, there was a christmas cd playing carols in the backgroud, my cake was a TEXAS BOOT!!! Carla made it! Yellow cake with chocolate frosting, my favorite. Veggie trays, queso, guacamole, it was so good! I was pleasantly surprised to see that people ate my cookies.

The activity we did were pictures with Santa. And everyone did one! I think since we'd gone all out, there wasn't one stick-in-the-mud in the room! Although every picture I took with someone on my lap, I heard, I don't want to break you! You aren't going to break me...

All in all it was a very memorable time. I took a ton of photos. I'll try and post them on here soon. I know I'm loved and it was very fun to laugh and be silly with some of those loved ones tonight.

One of His Surprises...

I have this theory that God likes the look on my face when He does something surprising and delightful for me...

I'm in my kitchen getting out baking stuff, when there's a knock on the side door. Yes? Could you move your car that's parked out in the street ma'am? Um, maybe, its my roommates' car and she's not here. I call Courtney and she's got her keys with her and no spare.

I go back to my prepping for baking and think, gosh that sure is close. They must be doing Ms. Audrey's lawn next door. Nope. I move to the front door and look through the keyhole. They are doing our lawn! Holy moly! I immediately open the door and a young man jumps off his riding lawn mower while the other keeps weedeating. Hi, do you have the wrong house? He names our leasing company. Yes, that's us. Then we've got the right house. I thank them profusely and ask them if they want some water or something. Nope, we're good.

They go back to work, I go back to my kitchen. I wonder if they are just doing the front. I look out the side, and they've mowed around our childrens' garden. I go out and thank the older guy for not butchering our flowers for our kids, explaining our kids' cg to him. I again offer to give them something to drink. Some water? Absolutely! I come back out with two chilled mugs of ice water. Give one to him and then head to the back of the house. The younger guy has just gotten done mowing the back. He tells me the next time he comes back (in 10-12 days!!!!!) he's going to bring a mulcher and mulch the back. And he's going to pick up the sticks and collect them so we can have a fire if we want.

I ask him if we had poison ivy in the back. I explain that our kids sometimes come to our house and I want to make sure they aren't going to be exposed to poison ivy. He looks around, pulling a few weeds, some poison oak. Then he goes around to the front, telling me he's going to bring antkiller next time. Then points out the front bushes which are ripe with the kind of poison ivy he's allergic to. Basically the whole bushes at the front are weeds or poison ivy and they are killing the healthy stuff.

The house is quiet now. I'm still in shock. All in all they mowed both lawns, trimmed, and used the weedeater and blower. I'm amazed at how fast a man can mow versus me. I asked them how much I needed to pay them and they said your leasing company pays for it. They could have asked for my firstborn son and I would have considered it. Every ten to twelve days? It might be worth it...

They Love Well.

I've been thinking about leadership lately. Its kinda hard not to in the house i live in. You see, I live with two incredible women of God. (No, no idea why He decided to bless me by being their roommate.) They are really lovely, and no, I'm not just saying that. That they love Jesus is pretty much written all over them from the tops of their heads to the tips of their toes...

Like I said, they are leaders in my church. Both of them lead community groups. A community group is a group that meets one night of the week and walk with each other through life. Its not always easy or pretty, but its always nice to know you aren't walking by yourself.

Each one of them go through various challenges and successes in the roles they've been chosen to play. Its humbling and awe-inspiring to watch. They are sometimes different as night and day; yet remain gracious, thoughtful, and kind. I am amazed by them on a daily basis.

They really are something special.

Pictures of the Fourth